Dull development moving forward

[Sn0man]

It does blend in nicely with the rest of the Harvey Ave strip.

Exactly. Kelowna is already ugly and boring. What's the problem with one more ugly and boring development?

[kibbs]

release the graffiti artists anything would be an improvement

[theyeti]

sky scrapers lol

[Grandan]

Skyscrapers are for downtowns...

Every big city downtown has skyskrapers and left the outskirts for low lying stipmalls and residential... we would be backwards...skyskraper next to your house to save the downtown area...Skyskrapers bring people to the area.

Folks there are several reasons why skyscrapers should not be downtown.
1. Existing buildings downtown are overshadowed by skyscrapers and councillors are concerned about mass
2. access to downtown is not good, the lake blocks all but the bridge traffic from the west and access from the north is limited by Knox mountain.
3. soils condition and ground water provide a difficult and expensive foundation issue.
Skyscrapers should be clustered in the geographical centre of Kelowna, Orchard Park area for example. The views from that area are great from the 4th floor and up so why not? Soil conditions are gravel, a better alternative than soils near the lake which would liquify in the event of an earthquake. Access is good from all points on the compass and the principal customers from Alberta do not have to drive all the way through town to get to downtown. Transit access is better in the centre of Kelowna, and I am a bit sick of subsidizing downtown to keep it afloat.

[Sn0man]

Skyscrapers should be clustered in the geographical centre of Kelowna, Orchard Park area for example.

I would agree with that. There's also ample development land in that area, though i'm not sure if it's ALR or not.

[theyeti]

but this isnt talking about by orchard park .. this is talking about rutland where hwy 97 meets hwy 33

pretty hard to find an albertan who wants to buy a shoebox in rutland rite now .
or anywhere for that matter . look at all the developments around kelowna that have went belly up over the last ten or so years . they were all condo projects .

and as for commercial .. there is so much currently available hard to see some huge new building getting built rite now

[kibbs]

Kelowna overbuilt and gave no one a reason to live here any more.People dying here is not enough to sustain us.We need to develop more youth oriented ventures so our kids will want to stay and people live and work in all this over development

[kibbs]

when you look at pictures of big modern cities it looks like the skyscrapers are on the waterfront but they are really back about gordon .and the lake front for park and people.

[GenuinelyInterested]

Why is necessary to grow this city? Why can't the old just die and the next generation move in to fill the void? If all development was to suddenly stop, it would be beneficial to this generation and all others that follow.
As the population outside of this area grows and the desire for a place among others of their age and needs increases, so would the value of the property and the services required to sustain those properties and people.
Imagine the value of the property to the 3rd generation from this one? What a great legacy could be passed down to the great-great grad-babies.
The NEED to continually expand and attract new investors is just another level of "Ponzi scheme". What is wrong with slow/steady growth? Why the rush to expand?

[Grandan]

Why is necessary to grow this city? Why can't the old just die and the next generation move in to fill the void? If all development was to suddenly stop, it would be beneficial to this generation and all others that follow.
As the population outside of this area grows and the desire for a place among others of their age and needs increases, so would the value of the property and the services required to sustain those properties and people.
Imagine the value of the property to the 3rd generation from this one? What a great legacy could be passed down to the great-great grad-babies.
The NEED to continually expand and attract new investors is just another level of "Ponzi scheme". What is wrong with slow/steady growth? Why the rush to expand?

First of all, developments which are attractive to seniors are not oriented to families plus the fact many are for 55 plus and will not accept children. That also means access to schools and recreation facilities rather than bingo and hospitals.
Secondly there is a need for good paying jobs for people with families and building homes for retirees is part of that economy, otherwise it means daddy has to work in Alberta. A "ponzi scheme" is built on money pouring in with nothing of value left for the investor whereas seniors housing is resold to other seniors moving in and realtors make a living from resales, tradesmen make money from renovations, furniture stores make money from replacement furniture, taxpayers benefit from an influx of seniors who pay school tax but don't have school aged children. Seniors have money to eat out and that means jobs for students from high schools and university. Seniors drive cars and leave behind good quality low milage cars that students can afford to purchase.
There is no rush to build anything, building is based on demand rather than speculation. Banks won't lend money unless a good proportion of the development is pre-sold or leased before it is past the drawing stage.
If a development oriented town is not your preference then take a look at towns that are not growing there are few to select from.
We have a heart centre developing in Kelowna because an aging population needs the service close to where they live. That heart centre will provide good paying jobs for Doctors, nurses, technicians, cleaners and so on.
I know the previous is way off topic but the "dull development" thread is based on the opinion of a councillor who has seen hundreds of developments pass before council and has set the bar based on his experience.. As has been mentioned previously this is a concept model that is only as good as the talent that created it. Great concepts don't always have the legs to carry it through to the end as we have seen with a few developments along the lakefront so it is not fair to judge the development based on the concept alone. The development on the corner of 33 and 97 has been begging for at least 25 years, not unlike the corner of Rutland Road and Hwy 33 has been in need of re-development since the early '80's. Take a look at Dilworth Centre for instance, it has had multiple facelifts over the years and looks better than ever. Orchard park has also reinvented itself over the years. Safeway was torn down to make room for Eatons which morphed into Sears. To find a developer to spend millions on redeveloping a key corner is worth giving the guy a shot at it, it's his money to put on the line.

[Grandan]

Why is necessary to grow this city? Why can't the old just die and the next generation move in to fill the void? If all development was to suddenly stop, it would be beneficial to this generation and all others that follow.
As the population outside of this area grows and the desire for a place among others of their age and needs increases, so would the value of the property and the services required to sustain those properties and people.
Imagine the value of the property to the 3rd generation from this one? What a great legacy could be passed down to the great-great grad-babies.
The NEED to continually expand and attract new investors is just another level of "Ponzi scheme". What is wrong with slow/steady growth? Why the rush to expand?

First of all, developments which are attractive to seniors are not oriented to families plus the fact many are for 55 plus and will not accept children. That also means access to schools and recreation facilities rather than bingo and hospitals.
Secondly there is a need for good paying jobs for people with families and building homes for retirees is part of that economy, otherwise it means daddy has to work in Alberta. A "ponzi scheme" is built on money pouring in with nothing of value left for the investor whereas seniors housing is resold to other seniors moving in and realtors make a living from resales, tradesmen make money from renovations, furniture stores make money from replacement furniture, taxpayers benefit from an influx of seniors who pay school tax but don't have school aged children. Seniors have money to eat out and that means jobs for students from high schools and university. Seniors drive cars and leave behind good quality low milage cars that students can afford to purchase.
There is no rush to build anything, building is based on demand rather than speculation. Banks won't lend money unless a good proportion of the development is pre-sold or leased before it is past the drawing stage.
If a development oriented town is not your preference then take a look at towns that are not growing there are few to select from.
We have a heart centre developing in Kelowna because an aging population needs the service close to where they live. That heart centre will provide good paying jobs for Doctors, nurses, technicians, cleaners and so on.
I know the previous is way off topic but the "dull development" thread is based on the opinion of a councillor who has seen hundreds of developments pass before council and has set the bar based on his experience.. As has been mentioned previously this is a concept model that is only as good as the talent that created it. Great concepts don't always have the legs to carry it through to the end as we have seen with a few developments along the lakefront so it is not fair to judge the development based on the concept alone. The development on the corner of 33 and 97 has been begging for at least 25 years, not unlike the corner of Rutland Road and Hwy 33 has been in need of re-development since the early '80's. Take a look at Dilworth Centre for instance, it has had multiple facelifts over the years and looks better than ever. Orchard park has also reinvented itself over the years. Safeway was torn down to make room for Eatons which morphed into Sears. To find a developer to spend millions on redeveloping a key corner is worth giving the guy a shot at it, it's his money to put on the line.

[GenuinelyInterested]

AND you see this as a problem? I see it as an asset.

[kibbs]

AND you see this as a problem? I see it as an asset

.

We could become a real estate investment ghost town.Development for investment sake, not social or community development. some people invest and develop property not caring if business actually occurs in it.How prosperous will we look with a bunch of empty buildings hanging around discouraging real quality investment.

[Grandan]

We could become a real estate investment ghost town.Development for investment sake, not social or community development. some people invest and develop property not caring if business actually occurs in it.How prosperous will we look with a bunch of empty buildings hanging around discouraging real quality investment.

Sounds like a lot of doom and gloom to me. We have recreational facilities built from taxation of people who will never use them.
The H2O centre is a prime example of investment in the community for future generations in both tourism and the local community.
Tax dollars are spent on art and culture and it sure is not the homeless that are paying for it. Kelowna is too popular to become a real estate ghost town. If you want to see a real estate ghost town have a look at Bombay Beach in California. Built on the Salton Sea (the largest lake in California) it was a mecca for tourism in the 50's. All that remains today are the rusted out hulks of trailers. Dozens of roads carved out of the desert left baking in the sun, the shoreline littered with dried up dead fish, a shore line that has receded from lack of precipitation.
Having lived in Kelowna for 32 years it is clear that the social and community development would not have happened had it not been for taxation and development cost charges to pay for the increased numbers of parks, improved cultural opportunities, hospital improvements and access to the lake. That taxation has come from a lot of newcomers to our City.
I don't see a lot of empty buildings except in the downtown core.

[kibbs]

The H2O centre is a prime example of investment in the community for future generations in both tourism and the local community.

This place is awesome except its way the heck over there.Driving up the highway I see many empty and stalled developments.We need more private/ public enterprises . Research , invite and invest in businesses that are proving success in a modern changing economy.The Baby boom will be heard less and less.